Courage to Love
by ProtegoNox
Summary: Remus encounters the strangest things, but in the end, he's the one to remind Sirius it takes courage to love. .:RLSB:.


**A.N.: **_This short little oneshot is for a competetion for Valentine's Day (which ends today, so I'm right on time). It's another little Remus and Sirius ficlet, placed in wherever, whenever since I haven't specified. Happy belated Valentine's day to all!_

**Disclaimer:**_ The Characters and the situations of Harry Potter depicted on this website are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.

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_Remus looks at the clear night sky and wonders why he isn't a snarling, bloodthirsty beast if it is the full moon. He doesn't dwell much on it because he sees Lily in front of him, wearing what looks like Dumbledore's favourite set of purple robes. 

"Say, have you seen my beard?" she asks him, looking around and digging in his pockets. She pulls out a bar of Honeydukes chocolate and proceeds to stuff most of it in Remus's mouth.

"Can't say I have," he answers once he manages to swallow it. "Have you asked the Giant Squid?"

"I haven't! What an excellent idea!" she exclaims, and a moment later, she is gone.

Shrugging, Remus walks down to Hagrid's hut and sees his half-giant friend poking at a large nose growing out of the ground with a red rose. "My, Hagrid, your Snape noses are even bigger this year!" he praises.

"Me grow big fat yum-yum noses for feast!" he says, and with a pat on the gamekeeper's huge arm, Remus heads into the Forbidden Forest, hands stuffed in his pockets full of stones.

"What lovely rocks! I should give them to Hagrid so he can plant them next to his noses," he says. As he turns to head back, however, he hears a distant howl and all thoughts of Hagrid and noses and rocks slip from his mind.

Running towards the sound, he notices he has changed into a wolf, large paws thundering on the soft ground. He howls at the full moon in victory because he is wolf, not werewolf. There is no pain, no thirst for human blood: only freedom, and the need to find the pack that has made him leader.

Panting, tongue lolling out, he enters a small clearing illuminated by the soft glow of the moon. He strolls towards the sound of running water and admires his reflection after taking a long, slow drink of the clear water. His tawny fur is ruffled from the run and his golden eyes reflect the human intelligence behind them.

His body stiffens when his ears pick up the sound of the familiar howl again, closer this time. He races towards it and stops when face to face with a large black dog.

The wind stops and the birds are silent. The canines stand still, eyeing each other with interest. Suddenly, the dog pounces forward and tries to push the wolf to the ground, but despite his smaller size, Remus is stronger and faster and anticipates the jump. He waits until the last possible second, when it is too late for the dog to step back, and stands on his hind legs. Remus bites at the dog's neck and slams him down. When the big dog struggles to be set free, Remus clamps down on harder until the dog, defeated, stops moving and blinks pleadingly at Remus with familiar eyes.

Remus lets him go and the dog bows his head to him before barking excitedly. They begin chasing each other, and soon they've left the clearing to race in the woods. They reach a small hill surrounded by pine trees and rest, watching the stars twinkle. They sit silently, watching the moon, understanding its pull on Remus's life.

Without hesitating, Remus nudges the dog's neck with his muzzle affectionately. The dog licks his ears and Remus wakes up.

Shaking his head to rid it of sleep, and the weird images of Lily in Dumbledore's clothing, he props himself up on an elbow and looks around the familiar bed. Next to him, Sirius sleeps soundly, snoring and twitching every once in a while. Sometime during the night, he had pulled the covers to himself, leaving Remus cold and shivering.

Remus yawns and smiles fondly, pulling discreetly at the covers and pressing himself closer to Sirius's warm body. He kisses his bare shoulder and tries to fall asleep again.

"I hate when you do that," groans Sirius, wrapping an arm around Remus's shoulders.

"What? When I take back the covers you've stolen?" Remus teases.

"That too. And you're freezing! It's a good thing I'm here to warm you up. But I was talking about how you wake up in the middle of the night, and mutter under your breath about the most ridiculous things," says Sirius. "We both know very well Hogwarts would never feed us Snape's nose, even if there would be left-overs for years."

"I know," grins Remus. "It's a rather horrific image all the same."

"Tell me about it," sighs Sirius. "It's enough I have to see that thing every day, much less be forced to eat it for the next few years."

"You say the most disgusting things some times."

"Ah, but you love me for it," says Sirius, squeezing Remus closer to him. He presses a little kiss to Remus's forehead and sighs. "I never thought I'd be lucky enough to love, or even be loved."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it."

"How so?"

"Love is the courage to open your heart and let someone in, and you're a Gryffindor, aren't you? You were meant to love."

"So philosophical of you, Remus. And at three o'clock in the morning no less."

"Ah, but you love me for it," smirks Remus.

Sirius bends closer and kisses Remus softly on the lips. "That I do."


End file.
